Tru - Da Crime Family (CD)

All Music Guide

When Tru released their second album, the cleverly titled Tru 2 da Game, in early 1997, its mastermind Master P was on the verge of superstardom. Nobody knew it at the time, of course, he was just one of the biggest figures in the Dirty South. That summer, Master P broke big, taking No Limit along with him. Of course, this was also good news for his fellow Tru colleagues, Silkk tha Shocker and C-Murder, who became stars in their own right. Of course, this built up expectations for Da Crime Family, Tru's third album and their first since stardom. But, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Tru may be big stars now, but they haven't taken that as an opportunity to expand or develop their music -- they simply made the same album anybody on No Limit (with the notable exception of Snoop Dogg) made in the two years following Master P's elevation to stardom. In other words, Da Crime Family feels identical to Tru 2 da Game, with the same sort of recycled beats..., hooks, and lyrics that graced that record. At least that album had some grit and (maybe) some element of surprise. Here, the trio feels as if they're putting their gangsta suit on and going to work. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that an album by a man who's more notorious for his business practices than his music sounds so workmanlike, but it's nevertheless amazing how rigid and formulaic this sounds. There are no surprises: the rhymes, rhythms, hooks, and skits all fall into place exactly where they should. To some, that may be a blessing, since that's all they're looking for from a No Limit record, but discerning listeners may start to wonder why they have a shelf full of discs that are all essentially the same. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read more Less